THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for being here. Go ahead and be seated.
We've got some work to do here. (Laughter.) Thanks for such a warm
welcome here in the great state of North Carolina; it's nice to be back
here. (Applause.) I'm here asking for the vote and I'm here to ask
for your help. (Applause.) Gosh, there's a lot of people back there
-- can you hear me back there? (Applause.) That's good. Thanks for
coming.

The first thing I'd like you to do is ask you to register your
friends and neighbors to vote. (Applause.) And while you're doing
that, don't overlook discerning Democrats like Zell Miller.
(Applause.) And then after we get them registered to vote, when it
comes voting time, head them to the polls and remind them if they want
a safer America, a stronger America, a better America, to put me and
Dick Cheney because in office. (Applause.)

Listen, we've got an interesting way to talk about some issues
today. One of the things you've got to know is I've got a reason to
run again. I'm asking for the vote because there's more to do to make
this country a safer place and a better place for everybody; a more
hopeful place for those of us who live here in America. And so I asked
some of our fellow citizens here to share some ideas, or to discuss
some of the ideas I have about a new term. I think you're going to
find it interesting, I hope you do.

Before I begin to talk with them about ways to make this country a
more hopeful place, I do want to tell you that I lucked out when Laura
said "yes." (Applause.) One way to maybe look at this race is you can
judge the nature of a fellow by the company he keeps. (Applause.) I'm
keeping great company when it comes to Laura Bush, I'm proud of her.
(Applause.) Listen, when I asked her to marry me, she said, fine, just
so long as I don't have to give any political speeches. (Laughter.) I
said, okay, you won't have to give any speeches. Fortunately, she
didn't hold me to my word. The other night the country got to see what
I've seen in Laura for all these years: She's compassionate, she's
decent, she's strong, she is a great mom, a wonderful wife, and a
fantastic First Lady for our country. (Applause.)

I want to thank my friend, Elizabeth Dole. She's a great United
States Senator for the state of North Carolina. I want to thank my
friend, Robin Hayes. I appreciate you being here, Congressman. I'm
glad you're here. Nice to see you, sir. (Applause.) Congresswoman
Sue Myrick, she's here. Thanks for coming, Sue. It's great to see
you. (Applause.) Richard Burr, is he here? (Applause.) Where is he?
Burr, how are you? (Applause.) I'm in town not only to talk about my
race, I'm in town to talk about his race. He needs to be elected to
the United States Senate. (Applause.)

I want to thank Pat McCrory, the great Mayor of Charlotte, North
Carolina. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. (Applause.) Cherie Berry
is with us today. We got some statehouse folks. We got Patrick
Ballantine, the next governor, with us today. (Applause.)

I want to thank the grassroots activists who are here today.
(Applause.) These people put up the signs and do the hard work. I
want to thank you for what you have done and what you're going to do,
which is, coming down the pike, turn people out to vote. We carried
North Carolina last time, and with your help, we're going to carry it
this time. (Applause.)

I know Teresa Earnhardt is with us today. I'm proud you're here,
Teresa. It's good to see you. Thanks for coming. There you are.
Appreciate you being here. (Applause.) I was going to the NASCAR race
in New Hampshire on Sunday, but I'm going down to help provide as much
comfort as I can to the folks whose lives have been turned upside down
by the hurricane that hit the coast so hard. I know it's affecting
parts of North Carolina. We send our prayers to the people whose lives
are being affected in your great state, and we stand ready to help when
this storm passes through.

I appreciate you all coming. Let me tell you something about what
I believe. I believe government should stand side-by-side with people,
not try to tell people how to run their life. (Applause.) I believe
the proper role of government is to help people help themselves, not
dictate to people. There's a fundamental difference in this campaign
in philosophy of government. And in the course of the next days coming
down the stretch, people are going to see a clear difference.

Today I also want you to understand I understand the world of ours
is changing, and the fundamental systems of government must change with
the changing world. The government of the -- the society of ours has
changed dramatically. For example, in the old days women used to stay
at home. Now they're staying at home and working, they're inside the
house and outside the house. (Applause.) That's a fundamental shift in
our labor market. And, yet, the labor laws haven't changed. So we're
going to talk about flex-time and comp-time today, to help women juggle
the needs of work and family. We want the labor laws to be
family-friendly here in America. We want them to adjust with the
times. (Applause.)

In the old days, you know, the day that her granddad worked for one
company and one career. And today people are now changing jobs and
careers oftentimes. And, yet, the worker training programs haven't
adjusted with the times. You've got a work force where people are
changing jobs often, you've got to have a worker training program that
helps train people for the jobs which actually exist. And so we're
going to talk about how to make sure the worker training programs here
in America work.

See, what I'm telling you is many of the systems of government were
designed for yesterday. I'm running for President to make sure they're
designed for tomorrow -- our tax system is designed for tomorrow, our
health care systems are designed for tomorrow, our pension plans are
designed for tomorrow. I want to make sure government helps people be
able to realize their dreams here in the greatest country on the face
of the Earth. (Applause.)

***missed portion***

I already worked through one mic. (Laughter.)

In order to make sure there's a hopeful society, we've got to make
sure this economy continues to grow. Now, when you're out gathering
the vote, remind your friends and neighbors what this economy has been
through. We've been through a recession. We've been through corporate
scandals -- that meant some people forgot what it meant to be a
responsible citizen. We passed laws that now make it clear we're not
going to tolerate dishonesty in the boardrooms of our country.
(Applause.)

And we went through that attack on our country on September the
11th, 2001, that cost jobs. It affected our economy. We're overcoming
these obstacles. These are obstacles in the way for economic growth
and vitality. We're overcoming them because we've got great workers,
great farmers and ranchers, great small business owners, and because of
tax relief. (Applause.)

The economy has added 1.7 million jobs since August of last year.
The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, which is lower than the
average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. (Applause.) The unemployment
rate here in North Carolina is 5 percent. The tax relief we -- the
economic stimulus plan we passed is working. And so the fundamental
question is, how are you going to make sure this recovery is sustained
economic growth. I'm going to talk a little bit about that if you
don't mind.

First, we need an energy plan to make sure jobs stay right here in
America. In order to make sure people can find work, this country must
have an energy plan. (Applause.) I submitted one to Congress that said
we're going to encourage conservation, we'll use renewables like
ethanol and biodiesel, we'll use clean coal technologies, we'll use
technologies to explore in environmentally friendly ways for natural
gas. But it's a plan that understands this: In order to make sure
people can find work here in America today and tomorrow, we need to be
less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)

In order to make sure we have jobs here in America, we need to do
something about these junk lawsuits that are threatening small business
owners. (Applause.) In order to do something about making sure we got
jobs here in America, we got to be wise about our regulatory policy.
Many small business owners fill our regulations. I can't guarantee you
whether anybody in the federal government has ever read them.
(Laughter.) But I do know paperwork is costly.

In order to make sure jobs stay in America we got to have wise
trade policy. Now, we've opened up our markets for foreign goods,
which is good for the American consumers. If you have more choices in
the marketplace you're more likely to get the product you want at a
better quality and a better price. So what I'm saying to other nations
is, you treat us the way we treat you. (Applause.) That's why --
that's why we were the first administration to invoke the China Textile
Safeguard. That's why we were the first administration to file a WTO
case against China. The message is clear: If you want to trade with
us, you treat us fairly, because Americans can compete with anybody,
anytime, anywhere if the rules are fair. (Applause.)

Two other things I want to tell you about in order to make sure
jobs are here. See, I got a six-point economic plan to make sure the
recovery that we're witnessing is a lasting recovery, so people can
realize their dreams here in America. Listen, a hopeful society is one
not only that changes fundamental systems to help people, but it's one
in which the economic vitality is strong enough for people to be able
to find work, or start their own business, or have a chance to realize
their dreams.

Now, we got to be wise about how we spend your money in Washington
if we're going to make sure this economy continues to grow. Here's my
view of things. We're going to set priorities, and then we're going to
let you keep as much money as we possibly can. Because once the
federal government meets those priorities, I think you can spend your
money better than the federal government can. (Applause.)

To make sure this economy grows, we got to keep your taxes low.
(Applause.) We're going to talk to a small business owner here in a
minute, a woman-owned business. One of the most amazing -- (applause)
-- one of the most important changes that has taken place in this
changing world is that there are 10 million women-owned businesses here
in America. What a phenomenal change in society, isn't it?
(Applause.)

I think tax policy ought to encourage the formation of women-owned
businesses, and I think tax policy ought not to harm women-owned
businesses. Do you realize most businesses today, small businesses are
sub-chapter S corporations, or limited partnerships, which means they
pay tax at the individual income tax level? So when you cut individual
income taxes, you're really helping small businesses. You're helping
women-owned small businesses. (Applause.)

I think raising taxes on small businesses would be a mistake. It
would hurt our economy. I'm running against a fellow who's promised
$2.2 trillion in new federal spending so far. And we haven't even got
to the stretch run yet. So they said, how are you going to pay for
it? He said, oh, that's simple, we'll just tax the rich. You run up
the top two brackets of the individual income taxes, you're taxing
about a million small businesses here in America. Seventy percent of
new jobs in America are created by small businesses, and you're taxing
the job creators.

That doesn't make any economic sense. You've heard the talk
before, haven't you -- "We're just going to tax the rich." Yes. The
rich hire accountants and lawyers, so you get stuck with the bill. You
can't tax the rich enough to pay for $2.2 trillion of new spending.
There's a tax gap. And guess who gets stuck with that tax gap? You
do. But we're not going to let him tax you, because we're going to win
in November. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Thank you. We've got work to do here.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: We've got a little work to do. Thanks. I told you
one of the most amazing statistics is the fact there's 10 million small
business owners. I think in the state of North Carolina, I think 45
percent of the small businesses are owned by women. That is an
incredibly hopeful statistic, isn't it? (Applause.) It's a fantastic
statistic.

See, when I talk about a changing world, that's what I'm talking
about. And so we got one of those entrepreneurs with us today.
Stewart Gordon is with us. A business owner. (Applause.) The
Buttercup, Inc. What do you do?

MS. GORDON: We're a gift and stationery shop, and we started 29
years ago, five women with an investment of $500 each. Only in
America. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Wait a minute. You're obviously still in
business.

MS. GORDON: We are. We're still going strong.

THE PRESIDENT: Do you have employees?

MS. GORDON: We have 37 talented women that work with us.
(Applause.) We own our own building. And we have a good time. It's a
nourishing environment, not only for us, our staff, but also for our
customers. We are true steel magnolias. So with determination and a
little hard work, The Buttercup is strong. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Good. The Buttercup is a sub-chapter S
corporation. That means they pay tax at the individual income tax
level. And so when you hear them coming out of Washington saying, oh,
we're just going to tax the rich, keep The Buttercup in mind. See,
when they run up the top two brackets, companies like The Buttercup get
affected. And if they start taking money out of The Buttercup's
coffers, it's less likely the women who work there are going to be able
to keep their jobs.

How many people did you hire this year, do you know?

MS. GORDON: We hired six.

THE PRESIDENT: Six people. See, that's what's happening in the
economy. Six people hired by this small business here, six there.
This economy is growing because the small business sector is strong.
(Applause.) Tax policy ought to help women-owned business, not hurt
women-owned businesses. Let's talk about flex-time, do you want to?

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: See, federal labor law -- hold on for a minute --
labor law prevents there to be maximum of flex-time. The labor law is
stuck in the past. It was written when women stayed at home. The
world has changed. We've got women now working in the house and out of
the house, like I said, and that's good for our economy. But the labor
laws need to adjust to allow moms to be able to juggle the needs of the
workplace and the family. I'm running again because I want to change
systems of government that prevent people from realizing their dreams.

If you make it easier for a mother -- or a father, for that matter
-- to be a good mom or a dad, it's more likely they're going to be a
better employee and have a higher quality of life. (Applause.)

One of the things we've changed is to change this concept of
government -- getting people dependent upon government. We changed
welfare laws in a more compassionate way, as far as I'm concerned. We
made the system more compassionate, so as to help people realize their
dreams.

And Frances Cunningham is with us -- my old buddy, right?

MS. CUNNINGHAM: I'm here.

THE PRESIDENT: Until I asked her to come on the stage.
(Laughter.) Mother of two.

MS. CUNNINGHAM: Yes. Can you hear me?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes, they can hear you loud and clear.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: You're doing good.

MS. CUNNINGHAM: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Frances is a great story, you know. She was on
welfare. They have a great welfare department here, they said, let's
help -- let's help somebody help themselves. That's what I'm telling
you about. We're changing systems so people have a chance to realize
dreams.

Now what she's saying, she wants to go to the next level.
Hopefully, somebody is listening out there in the camera that says,
wait a minute, maybe Frances could make a --

MS. CUNNINGHAM: And I have been promoted on my job, and it just
opened up a lot of doors for me. And I'm sure a lot of women out here
understand, you know, when you have to depend on the government to help
you, that is fine for a while -- to help you get your life in order.
And it's been great. And I just encourage business to just help one
another and help people, and help us to become better citizens out
here, and mothers and fathers, you know?

THE PRESIDENT: That's good. You're doing great. (Applause.)
Listen, she has the hardest job in America, though. I want you to know
she's got the toughest job in America -- a single mother is the
toughest job in America. (Applause.) And we need to help. And I
appreciate you, you did great.

I want to talk to Kema Jenkins. We're going to talk to Kema right
now --

MS. CUNNINGHAM: Okay. All right. Thank you. And Mr. Jacobson,
he's not here, Department of Social Service director, he's been like a
mentor.

THE PRESIDENT: That's good. See, people can make a difference in
somebody's life. We can change one America one heart and one soul at a
time if somebody just takes time out of their life to love a neighbor
like you'd like to be loved yourself. (Applause.)

Are you ready, Kema? I told you one of the real challenges we have
is to help people have the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the
21st century. We've got a really interesting story here in Kema
Jenkins. She is a -- she's a good soul who -- well, tell us. You used
to work for?

MS. JENKINS: A textile company. That is now --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. You don't want to say its name? No? Okay.
Pillowtex -- I will. (Laughter and applause.)

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Let me -- if I can help say what you just said.
Look, the government needs to help people gain the skills necessary to
fill jobs. I know what it's like here with the textile industry, and
so do you. It's been hit hard. But the amazing thing about your
economy is that it is diversifying. There are health care jobs
available. And the government I think has a responsibility to help
people like Kema gain the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st
century. (Applause.)

Nobody likes jobs going away. But there's new opportunity. In a
changing economy like ours, there are new opportunities for people.
When an economy changes it certainly creates dislocation, and I
understand that. And that's not good. But what is good is that jobs
are replaced with higher-paying jobs so long as the people have the
skill set necessary to fill the jobs. And that's what we're talking
about here. Women need help. If they get laid off from work, they
need help. That's why I'm such a big believer in the community college
system, in helping people go back and gain the skills. (Applause.)

You can't say -- government can't pass a law that says, Kema has
got to go back to school. She's got to make up her own mind. She said,
I want to embetter myself and is there a place to find help. I think
it's a legitimate use of your taxpayer -- of your money, is to help
somebody like Kema be able to realize dreams in the workplace.
(Applause.)

Now, let me ask you something. One of the interesting things about
education -- I didn't see you all over there; that's the end zone.
Okay, never mind. (Applause.)

One of the interesting things about education is that as you
increase your skill level, you increase your productivity. It means
you're a more productive worker. And when you become more productive,
you make more money. One of the interesting things about a changing
economy is that our workers are more productive than ever before. That
means instead of using a hoe, you use a backhoe. Or instead of using,
you know, a regular old standard typewriter, you use a computer. In
other words, that's an example of becoming more productive.
(Applause.)

But that creates a challenge for us. It creates a challenge for us
in our society because the more productive workers become, the faster
the economy has to grow so people can find work. That's why my
six-point plan is essential to making sure people in a productive world
can find work.

So you worked there for Pillowtex for a while and -- so what's the
difference in pay? I'm not -- maybe not exactly numbers. More, less,
same?

MS. JENKINS: I'm going to be making more this year than I've made
the past 21 years at Pillowtex. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. See, that's the great opportunity for women.
(Applause.) It's the great opportunity for women in the workplace. If
you can help a person with the skill set necessary to work, help them
become more productive, they make more money. She's making more money
in the beginning of a new career than she made at the end of her other
career. And that's what's happening all around America. That's why
it's important for us to change fundamental systems to help women --
and men, for that matter -- realize their dreams. And that's what
we're talking about. It's helping people. It's a difference of
philosophy. As opposed to saying, you know, you will be dependent on
government, or, you will do this, or, you will do that -- my philosophy
says, can we help you, and can we help you help yourself.

In a changing world, helping people help themselves creates a more
hopeful America. (Applause.)

Let me talk about health care right quick. It's an issue in this
campaign. There is a fundamental difference between what I believe and
my opponent believes when it comes to health care. I believe the best
health care decisions are made by doctors and patients. (Applause.) I
believe it is essential that the federal government does not run your
health care. (Applause.)

And I put out some practical plans to help people. Do you know
that about 50 percent of the working uninsured work for small
businesses? And the reason why they're uninsured is because small
businesses have trouble purchasing affordable health care for their
employees. And, yet, most small business owners want to purchase
affordable health care for their employees. I see a lot of the women
business owners here nodding, they -- the best way to help small
businesses and their employees and their families is to allow small
businesses to pool together, to bind together across jurisdictional
boundaries so they can buy insurance at the same discounts that big
businesses get to do. (Applause.)

Those are called association health plans. My opponent is against
them. I think they make a lot of sense. Government should help people
solve problems. The -- health savings accounts are a very interesting
way for people to save money when it comes to health care, and to help
small businesses afford insurance for their employees. Health savings
accounts are basically catastrophic plans with a high deductible and
that the employer and employee contribute, based upon the contractual
arrangement, tax-free money into an account. So, in other words, if
you've got -- say, the insurance company will pay for everything over
$2,000, you cover from zero to $2,000 either as a contribution to your
employee or the employee puts it in, and it's your money. And if you
spend the $2,000, you replenish next year. If you spend nothing on
your health care because you're a good exerciser, you make good
choices, you've been lucky, things went well, that $2,000 is your
money; it earns interest, tax-free; you carry it over from one year to
the next, and then you've got a nest egg for the next year.

And basically what it says is, it says that people make decisions
on health care, not some faceless bureaucrat. It means that you've got
a chance to control this health care plan. In a changing world, people
change jobs and careers quite often, which means you take your health
savings account with you wherever you go. (Applause.)

To make sure health care is available and affordable, we're going
to spend some money to make sure that children who are eligible for the
low-income health programs at the government level get signed up. See,
there's too many of the kids not signing up what they call S-chip.
It's a good program and we ought to encourage families to take
advantage of the low-income health programs for our children.

I also want to tell you another interesting idea. Actually, we're
doing it right now. To make sure health care is available for all of
us, we're going to expand community health centers. Now, community
health centers are places where the indigent and the poor can get
primary care and preventative care. It's a good use of your money to
expand community health centers. It's better that people get this kind
of care and get this kind of care at a community health center, and not
in an emergency room of a local hospital. (Applause.) And so, in a
second term -- in a second term, we will expand community health
centers to every poor county in America. (Applause.)

Two other things on health care I want to talk about -- want to
talk about Medicare. I went to Washington to fix problems, not pass
them on to future Presidents and future generations. We had an issue
in Medicare. We had an issue in Medicare. A lot of senior women were
affected by a Medicare system that hadn't modernized. People say, what
are you talking about? I say, well, Medicare would pay for the
$100,000 for the heart surgery, but would not pay for the prescription
drugs that might prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the
first place. That didn't make any sense. It didn't make any sense for
Medicare recipients; it didn't make any sense for taxpayers.

And so we're modernizing the system. They've got drug discount
cards now available for our seniors. I urge our seniors to look at
drug discount card. People are having great savings when it comes to
prescription drug coverage, particularly our poor seniors, because
we're helping them with the purchase of drugs. In 2005, there will be
preventative screenings paid for by Medicare, for the first time ever
in the system. It helps us solve problems by diagnosing problems
early. And in 2006, our seniors will get prescription drug coverage.
And the system makes sense. (Applause.)

And finally -- finally, we've got a healer with us today, a doc,
Andrea Torsone. One reason why it's hard for small businesses to
afford health care, one reason why your health care costs are going up,
one reason why docs are becoming less available for people is because
these junk lawsuits are beginning to hurt the health care industry
significantly. (Applause.) If you're a doctor and you're getting sued
all the time, or your neighbor is getting sued all the time, you're
going to practice defensive medicine so that you can defend yourself in
a court of law. That costs -- practicing of defensive medicine, in
other words, you're prescribing more than you need to do, you're just
doing the extra X ray here, or extra test there -- that costs the
federal government $28 billion a year, to practice defensive medicine.
I mean, there is a direct correlation between these lawsuits and the
cost of government

We need to do something about it. Too many good docs are leaving
practice. Too many women are having trouble with keeping their
OB/GYN. Particularly the OB part of the OB/GYN. And they're getting
run out of business. I've talked to too many women who are pregnant
and they don't have their local doc because the local doc had to
surrender the practice due to the high cost of premiums caused by
lawsuits. And that's not right. That's not right. Good health care
for women, and good health care for every American depends on having a
legal system that is reasonable. We need medical liability reform
now. (Applause.)

And this is an issue in this campaign. This is an issue in this
campaign. There's a fundamental difference of opinion. See, I don't
think you can be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-hospital and
pro-trial lawyer at the same time. (Applause.) I think you have to
choose. I think you have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and
he put a trial lawyer on the ticket.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: I made my choice: I'm standing with the docs and
patients. We're for medical liability reform in this campaign.
(Applause.)

All right, Doc. You are a -- what kind of doc?

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: See, this is a problem. Here is a kind,
compassionate soul who is obviously talented, and went to school
because she wanted to deliver babies. And the cost of doing medicine
is so high because of lawsuits that she no longer does so. It's just
one less person to help a woman and it's -- we got a national problem
with this issue. She said her premiums have gone up 300 percent in a
very brief period of time. That's because it's like a legal lottery
out there, and you just keep filing these lawsuits, one after another.
And it's happening state after state. Good people are saying, I'm
through. I wish I could practice, I wish I could heal, I wish I could
help, but I can't afford it anymore.

And this is a living example of why we need medical liability
reform in Washington, D.C. Listen, I believe that this is a national
issue. I believe it is a national problem. And I know it's causing
our budgets to go up, and that's why I submitted a plan to the House
and the Senate. It passed the House; it's stuck in the Senate because
there's too many trial lawyers in the United States Senate.
(Applause.)

I also want to share some thoughts with you about my most important
duty, which is protect you and your children. That's the most
important duty I have. (Applause.) Let me share some lessons I've
learned from September the 11th.

One, we face an enemy that has no conscience. They -- it's hard
for us to understand people that will kill for the sake of an ideology
of hatred, but they do. And, therefore, you cannot negotiate with
these

people, you cannot hope for the best. You cannot sit down and
maybe think, well, gosh, there's a chance we can rationalize with
them. You cannot. And that's why our strategy in this government is
to find them in places around the world so we do not have to face them
here -- is to bring them to justice in foreign lands. (Applause.)

Okay, hold on a second. Thank you all, but not yet.

Secondly -- I've got more than one lesson to share with you.
Secondly, this is a different kind of struggle, it's a different kind
of war. There are places where these people can hide and wait and
plan. And, therefore, I laid out a doctrine which said, if you harbor
a terrorist, you're just as equally -- you're just as guilty as the
terrorist. Now, when the President says something -- hold on for a
second -- when the President says something, he better mean what he
says, in order to make this world more peaceful. (Applause.) I meant
what I said. I meant what I said.

The Taliban ignored what we said. And thanks to a lot of really
fine, fine soldiers, the Taliban is no longer in power in Afghanistan.
And we're better off for it. (Applause.) The world is safer for it,
and so is America. No longer does al Qaeda have a safe haven. See,
these people are like parasites and they try to find a weak host so
they can eventually, kind of, become the host. And as a result of
removing the Taliban from power, we're safer. These al Qaeda no longer
have safe haven there. There's still some hiding in remote regions of
that part of the world, and we're after them. Day after day, we're
slowly but surely dismantling the al Qaeda network. Seventy-five
percent of their leaders and associates have been brought to justice.
Over the next four years we'll continue to keep the pressure on.
That's our duty to the American people.

But I also want to tell you what else happened in Afghanistan.
This is a country where many young girls didn't get to go to school.
When I talk about ideologies of hate, I'm talking about people that
would not allow girls to be educated. That's part of an ideology of
hate. Their mothers were taken to the squares of that country and
whipped, or killed in some cases, in the sports stadium, because they
would not toe the line of this dark ideology. That's the way these
people think. There is no -- (drop in tape.) As a matter of fact,
freedom frightens them -- freedom of thought, freedom of religion,
freedom of speech.

Today in Afghanistan -- this is three years ago, which really isn't
very long, when you think about it -- three years after these people
were brutalizing much of that society, 10 million citizens, 41 percent
of whom are women, have registered to vote in the upcoming presidential
election. (Applause.) Isn't that fantastic? Think about that. This
is a society which has gone -- which is going from darkness to light
because of freedom. And we're better off for it. We're better off
that Afghanistan is a free country. It helps us to have an ally in the
war on terror there, as opposed to a place where the terrorists can
hide.

Third lesson is that we must take threats seriously, before they
fully materialize. That's one of the lessons of September the 11th.
It's a harsh lesson, but it's one we must never forget. Prior to
September the 11th, planners and thinkers in Washington, D.C. could see
a threat and say, well, we don't have to worry about it because it
could never come and hurt us. That's what we thought. It wasn't that
way during the Cold War, admittedly, but we had a plan, mutually
assured destruction. But after the Cold War, we thought we were safe,
didn't we? If you really think about the time, three short years ago,
we felt like we were protected. And so when we saw threats we could
decide to deal with it if we wanted to deal with it, or not. After
that day, every threat must be taken seriously.

In Saddam Hussein I saw a threat. I saw a threat because he was a
sworn enemy of the United States of America. He was our enemy. As a
matter of fact, they were firing missiles -- he was firing missiles at
U.S. aircraft enforcing the world's sanctions. We had been to war
with Saddam Hussein before; he had been to war in his neighborhood --
in other words, he was a destabilizing influence. He had terrorist
ties. Abu Nidal killed Leon Klinghoffer, if you remember. Remember
that incident? The guy was in Baghdad, as were people in his
organization. Zarqawi, the beheader, was in and out of Baghdad, and he
had a poisons network in Iraq. He was a terrorist. Saddam Hussein
paid the families of suicide bombers. Suicide bombing is a terrorist
activity. He had terrorist ties. He also had the capability of making
weapons of mass destruction, and he had used weapons of mass
destruction. And the intelligence I looked at and the intelligence
Congress looked at said he actually had them there.

So I saw a threat. And I went to the United States Congress and
said, we got an issue here that we're going to have to deal with.
Members of the Congress of both political parties looked at the very
same intelligence I looked at -- the very same intelligence -- and they
remembered the same history I remembered, and they concluded that
Saddam Hussein was a threat, and authorized the use of force. My
opponent looked at the same intelligence I looked at, and when they
said, do you authorize the use of force, he voted "yes."

Before the Commander-in-Chief commits troops into harm's way,
before the Commander-in-Chief looks a mom or dad in the eye and says,
I'm sending your son or daughter into harm's way, we must have tried
all options -- all options. And I was hopeful diplomacy would solve
this problem. I was hopeful that we could diplomatically deal with the
threat. And so I went to the United Nations, said, we see a problem.
They looked at the same intelligence I looked at, they remembered the
same history I remembered, and with a 15-to-nothing vote in United
Nations Security Council, they voted to tell Saddam Hussein: You
disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.

Now, I told you when I say something, you better mean it if you're
the President. I think when international bodies speak, they better
mean it, as well. (Applause.) And they said this. Saddam Hussein, as
he had for resolution after resolution after resolution after
resolution, ignored this one. He wasn't about to disclose, disarm. So
he didn't believe there would be serious consequences, I guess. As a
matter of fact, when they sent inspectors in, the U.N. sent inspectors
in, he systematically deceived them. And I knew he was deceiving
them. So I have a choice to make at this point in time: Do I take the
word of a madman and forget the lessons of September the 11th, or take
action to defend our country? Given that choice, I will defend America
every time. (Applause.)

Okay, hold on.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you all.

A couple of other things I want to share -- let me share some other
things with you right quick. We didn't find the stockpiles we thought
we would find, the stockpiles that everybody thought was there. But I
do know, I do know, I do know that he had the capability of making
those weapons, and he could have passed that capability on to an
enemy. And that's a risk we could not afford to take after September
the 11th. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same
decision. (Applause.) The world is better off with Saddam Hussein
sitting in a prison cell, make no mistake about it. (Applause.)

Prime Minister Allawi is coming here next week. He's a tough guy
who believes that Iraq should be free. And he cares about the hopes
and aspirations of the Iraqi people. He is -- I'm looking forward to
meeting him. I think he's coming to speak to the Congress -- I hope I
didn't let the cat out of the bag. Everybody knows that? Okay, good.
(Laughter.) Hope he knows it. (Laughter.) I'm looking forward to the
American people hearing him. It's important that we hear from someone
there on the ground who -- who believes that people want to be free,
believes that the people of Iraq really want to be free.

Here's our strategy in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We're going to
help the Iraqis hold elections. The Afghan people are holding their
elections soon. There will be free elections in Iraq in January of
this year. People want to vote. People want to participate.
(Applause.) We're going to help train Iraqi police and army so they can
defend themselves against the few who are trying to stop the dreams of
the many in that country. We'll help them, and we're making progress.
We're making progress. It's tough. Of course, it's tough, because
there are killers there who are trying to shake our will and shake the
will of the Iraqis. It's tough on the Iraqi citizens. These people
are indiscriminately killing because they want to cause us to leave,
and they want the Iraqis to grow weary of trying to be a free society.
Listen to Allawi. He'll talk about what it means to be free.

Once we get these folks trained and get them on the path to
stability and democracy, our troops are coming home, with the honor
they earned. (Applause.) And I appreciate those in the United States
military. I'm proud you all are here. (Applause.)

Here's the fourth lesson I want to share with you. The fourth
lesson is, when we put troops in harm's way, they deserve the full
support of the federal government, full support. (Applause.) That's
why I went to the Congress and asked for $87 billion of support for our
troops. And this is important funding, really important funding. As a
matter of fact, it was so important that there was wide bipartisan
support in the Senate and in the House. As a matter of fact, when I
say "wide bipartisan support," I'm talking only 12 members of the
Senate voted against the funding -- two of whom are my opponent and his
running mate.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: When you're out rounding up the vote, when you're
rounding up the vote, remind people of this fact: only four members of
the Senate voted to authorize the use of force, and then voted not to
fund the troops -- two of whom are my opponent and his running mate.

Now, you might remember, when they asked him, they said, why, and
he said, well, I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted
against it. There's not a lot of folks in Charlotte, North Carolina
who speak that way, I can assure you. (Applause.)

We've done hard work. We've done hard work. Because of the hard
work we've done, this world is becoming more peaceful. I believe -- I
believe in the transformational power of liberty. That's what I
believe. It's the heart of much of what I think, is because I believe
liberty can change enemies to allies, and change distressed societies
to hopeful societies. I like to share with people my feelings about
Japan. You know, Prime Minister Koizumi is a friend of mine. I like
him. He's a good guy to talk to. And he is the Prime Minister of a
country with which we were at war during my dad's lifetime. After all,
he was there, as was your dads and granddads. Think about that. It
wasn't all that long ago that Japan was the sworn enemy of the United
States of America. We were fighting them. Young men went off to war
and a lot didn't come back.

And, yet, after World War II, Harry Truman and other American
citizens believed that if Japan became a democracy the world would be
better off. And that was hard work, really hard work. You can imagine
why. You can imagine the moms here saying, what do you mean, working
with Japan to make a democracy. They just killed -- caused great harm.
And, yet, there was this unshakeable faith that liberty could change
societies. And as a result of that unshakeable faith of a prior
President and citizens of this country, I know sit down at the table
with Prime Minister Koizumi talking about keeping the peace. Think
about that. (Applause.)

Some day -- some day an American President, whoever he or she may
be -- (applause) -- will be sitting down, will be sitting down with a
duly elected leader of Iraq talking about how to keep the peace in the
greater Middle East. And our children and grandchildren will be better
off for it. (Applause.)

Liberty can change societies. Free societies are peaceful
societies. Free societies help change the world. I believe everybody
longs for freedom. And I believe this not because freedom is America's
gift to the world, I believe it because freedom is the Almighty God's
gift to each man and woman in this world. (Applause.)

I'm here today to let you know I have a reason to seek the office
again. I'm running to help transform systems of government so people
can realize their dreams. I'm running again to continue to lead so
this world will be a safer place. I'm running again because I want to
help spread the peace we all want. I'm running again because I have
great faith in the American people and have great faith in the values
that make us a great nation. I know where I want to lead. And I
want to thank your help -- for your help in helping us get there. With
your help, we'll win a great victory in November of this year. God
bless. (Applause.) God bless you all. (Applause.)